Get Your Students Hired
Base on the individual needs and expectations which might be different for each student. An instructor can develop a teaching style for the indidividual.
Hi Laura,
I do to. These questions could be turned into a great class opener which would give the students information about each other and you as well. This would help you in your instructional planning to make sure you were on target with their learning needs.
Gary
After attending a high school open house for one of my children I noticed a common poster hanging in all the classrooms. Each poster had three questions listed that were addressed to the teacher from the student. It stated the following: What am I going to learn, how will I know I learned it and how will I use it in the future? I think this will be an excellent tool to use after polling the students on their expectations for the course. By beginning each class with those questions in mind, the students and I will be able to stay on track with focused, relevant instruction.
Hi Samer,
Good points about how the term relevance is used within and outside of the class setting. The students have to internalize the value of their instruction and then apply it if it is going to have relevance to their future and success. This is one of the ongoing efforts we instructors need to attend to throughout our teaching process.
Gary
The term “relevance†has different meanings to different people. When the relevance of a particular component of the curriculum is considered, we should look at it from the perspectives of students, administration, and the overall relevance to the practice of dentistry. Relevance for students generally refers to whether or not the students perceive that the material will affect their grades, their ability to perform on standardized professional tests, and their ability to practice dentistry. Relevance to the administration is the importance the dental school administration places on the subject. Relevance to dentistry is whether or not the information is necessary and part of the professional life of a dentist.
Students need a personal connection to the material, whether that's through engaging them emotionally or connecting the new information with previously acquired knowledge (often one and the same). Without that, students may not only disengage and quickly forget, but they may also lose the motivation to try.
The brain processes underlying this may involve the reticular activating system, or RAS, the brain's first filter for incoming sensory information (sights, sounds, and so on). It acts like a virtual editor of sensory information, letting in certain things and filtering out others. Information has to make it through the RAS to get to parts of the brain where it can be "acknowledged, recognized, coded into patterns, and ultimately stored in long-term memory," Willis writes. What tends to get through? Willis explains that the RAS prioritizes potential threats and things that are new, pique curiosity, or have the potential to bring pleasure -- dry, impersonal facts, not so much.
Often, "the learner's emotional reaction to the outcome of his efforts ... shapes his future behavior," write cognitive neuroscientist and educational psychologist Mary Helen Immordino-Yang and Harvard doctoral candidate Matthias Faeth in Mind, Brain, and Education: Neuroscience Implications for the Classroom. In other words, if Johnny doesn't believe a particular activity is interesting, relevant, or within the scope of his capabilities, it's probably not going to sink in. Still, scientists caution, too much emotion can be as detrimental to learning as too little: distractions and stress can also block receptivity to new ideas.
My students are working for stable careers where daily, systematic labors produce year-found fruitfulness. I can mold my strategies and methods to facilitate the day-in/day-out mastering of course content, rather than focusing exclusively on the "pot-of-gold" at the end of the class.
In order for instruction to be relevant the learner needs to know the information being given is a building block to instruction. In order to get that point accross instructors can show them by continually adding to a project or a puzzle.
every time we cover a concept in my class, I give examples about where and why it is appropriate in the workplace. We cover many concepts in a repetitive fashion. I remind them of the past examples I used, and give a new example too. This helps my students remember and do well.
Good evening Dr. Meers,
Adult learner needs and expectations are the foundation to relevant instruction because students want to know that thier hard work and committment to school is not wasted and that they will actually be able to apply what they learn in the classroom to real life after they graduate. As a chef instructor, I find that my students want to learn the techniques that are currently being used in the industry more than the obscure ones that are seldomly used. I find that showing the students actual menus from restaurants in the industry helps to reinforce the lessons that I am teaching them in the classroom. For example, if I show them the menu for Daniel Bolud's Brasserie that has an emulsified sauce on it; and the lesson for the day is emulsified sauces; they are more likely to want and master the technique based on the fact that Daniel Bolud is a world renowned chef.
Best regards,
Jason Kupper
I always tie in real world experiences and situations with the text book learning. I emphasize the relevancy of the book learning to the real world. An adult learner has to feel the information they learn is important to apply to their new skills. By show relevancy of the new material they are learning, helps the student feed their expectation--of getting a new skill, for a new career, for a new life.
Hi Anthony,
Good strategies for keeping your students focused and involved in the learning process. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Identifying the students needs/expectations allows me to proceed with specific course content. Shows me where the students needs are, & how to progress.
By using differnet delivery methods, using powerpoints, & visual aids for those students that learn visually, lecturing for those whose needs are auditorily,(but keeping lectures to "short bursts" so I do not lose the students who pefer other methods. And finally getting the students up & involved, get them touching, doing to get the tactile learners involved.
Students exspect to learn the content that will help them suceed in there desired career field. So knowing what they exspect will help you focus on there needs to be successful.
The students that I see, do not want to know what finding a job or what equipment WAS USED. They are interested in what industry is like now.
Hi Karen,
Good way to bring relevancy into your instruction. You are showing your students what they are learning in the classroom will be needed and used when they are out working. This increases their motivation to their studies and the field.
Gary
I link every particular subject with the general topic on discussion; any new information is present in a context, where the students can relate and see the application; the new information is giving with practical examples and/or with case studies where students can apply the new information. Relating, understanding the rationale, and knowing the application of the new information are the key during my instruction.
I try to make all of the activities relevant to their new career. Holding a knife, proper cutting techniques, why we heat a saute pan before adding the protein, melting chocolate over low heat, etc. It must relate to their future career.
Every new class I find that students need to know how the class fits into what their career choice is. If they do not see relevance they tend not to be interested. In my classroom, I try to have the students make connections to the content and apply it to their workplace situations so they can evaluate exactly how it is relevant and their expectations can be met.
Hi David,
This is a great way to "connect the dots" for students. They can hear about relevancy and then see it reinforced through the stories you share from you own experience. This really helps to tie the material all together for the students.
Gary
I teach graphic design at a career college and I also find myself using a similar approach. I don't like making people "jump through hoops" so when someone expresses concerns about relevancy (or when I anticipate such concerns), I usually tell a quick story of a pertinent scenario from my experience. This has proven quite effective in quelling their anxiety.